The Grey Journey
by Shadenight123
Summary: A voyage begun by a child rarely shows the same things if done by an adult. Embarking on his own Pokémon journey, Grey will see the world as it is, and not as he'd like it to be. His place in Team Rocket already secured, will he have the courage to rebel against the Boss, or will he backstab those he sees as friends? Trials, battles and a rigorous dose of Rattata cuteness awaits.
1. Grey

_**The Grey Journey**_

"_Remember, my son. You will take on the family business whether you like it or not. Go now and enjoy your life; go and live your Great Adventure, but remember that in the end…your place is as my successor."_

_Giovanni, Viridian City Gym Master._

Pallet Town was a mass of old wooden buildings, lost in the near wilderness South of Viridian City. The only way out was through the sea, where old boats would sometimes carry passengers to Cinnabar island, or through the North past Route one.

Amidst the tranquillity of the place, silence reigned even as the sun shone with its rays through the window's glass panel, disturbing his quiet sleep, but without fully waking him up.

There was something extremely wrong with that moment, but the foreboding chill wasn't enough to convince him to turn around or crack an eye open. He kept on snoring lightly, as sleep was the best thing that could happen to him. The feeling of being the prey passed through his mind for an instant.

It was all that it took.

"_**GOTCHA**_!" the scream, directly sent into his ear, woke him up with a shriek of his own. He jumped on the bed, holding the pillow with both hands as his feet tangled against the sheets, sending him to tumble on the ground.

"What the hell!" he gasped for air, moving his hands to his ears that still ringed, and dropping the pillow in his lap. "Y-You! Leaf! I'll get you for this!" he snarled, pointing an accusing finger towards the teenager girl that had simply barged inside his house.

"Ahah! I got Grey! I got Grey!" she sung, moving her index fingers to the right and to the left, a smile on her face. Her long grey hair had twin bangs covering the sides of her face, as a large hat stood atop her head. She already had a yellow bag slung over her shoulder, and a hastily donned cerulean sweater and red skirt.

The thing he actually noticed was that, once more, she hadn't even bothered to pull her socks all the way up the her knees.

"Why did you have to wake me up?" he mumbled, bringing his right hand to his forehead and staring blearily at her. If looks could kill, he was sure his would do it.

"Today's the day!" she chirped. "It's the day I become a Pokémon Trainer!"

She pumped her right hand up and down, holding a victorious smile. "I'm going to be the very best!"

"Good," he grumbled as he fell back on the bed, covering his head with the sheets. "Let me sleep."

"Ehi!" she bellowed, "No sleeping! You have your own Pokémon! So come on! Help me choose my own!"

"Why are you disturbing me for this? Just get the one you like," he brought the pillow over his head to drown out the noises. The pillow was yanked away a moment later, as the sixteen-year-old brat stared at him with her cheeks puffed and red.

"Please! You've got to have some suggestion, right!?" she yelled out, her voice now a high-pitch. He winced at the volume.

"Look," he muttered. "I'm without coffee in my system. Come back in an hour."

"But the others will all have taken their Pokémon by then! Come on! I woke up early to get the best-est pick! Professor Oak has a Charmander, a Squirtle and a Bulbasaur! Which is the strongest?"

He slowly muttered curses under his breath as he walked out of his room, whistling sharply.

There was a sharp rustling noise, as a Rattata appeared from the corner of the corridor. The way it dashed and the smile it held made him look like the demented version of Micky Mouse…without the children potential.

"Rat-Tata!" it exclaimed, jumping against his knees and waggling its tail like a dog. "Ratta-ta?" it asked then, cocking its head to the side.

"Her," he pointed towards Leaf. "Why is she inside?"

Rattata began to hiss, his fur spiking up. He showed his teeth, his claws emerged…and Leaf just rolled her eyes and brought down her hand open with a candy in it.

Rattata had the decency to hesitate for a second, before swallowing the candy and then rolling on his back to receive some belly rubs.

"Who's a cute little Rattata? You are! You're a little cute mouse aren't you? Yes! Who's cute? You are! You are-are-are so much!"

He'd get cavities before the end of the morning if this kept up. "Norman," he hissed. "Act dignified for once!"

Norman whined pitifully, before slowly rolling back on its four paws and trudging behind him like a kicked dog.

"Don't be mean with little Norman!" Leaf exclaimed.

"Go and get yourself a Pokémon, Leaf," Grey replied. "I think there's Gary leaving the house just over there…"

"AH! Quick! What's the easiest one to start with?" she yelled, scampering towards the door.

"A Water Type," he replied instantaneously, before suddenly biting his tongue as he realized he had given the wrong answer. The girl was off before he could correct himself, and in the end, he didn't try to pursue her. Sure, Water was fine for the first Gym, but for the second Bulbasaur was actually a better pick. If he learned a grass move before the Pewter one, then it was a safe bet to assume a winning streak at least until the fifth Gym Leader.

"Well, Norman," he muttered. "Let's get ourselves some breakfast."

He opened the door of his kitchen and froze into place.

The window was open, and a Pokémon he had never seen before was calmly pecking at his cereal boxes. It held a giant backpack slung over his shoulders, and it squawked indignantly as he entered his very own kitchen.

"Those are my cereals," he deadpanned.

Norman hissed, swishing its tail.

"Delibird," it croaked, grabbing a package from within his backpack and setting it on the table. "Delibird."

He ignored the creature for good and carefully pried open the cardboard box. The bright red R of team Rocket was the most visible thing atop the package, and he bit his tongue as he saw not only his uniform, but also his orders.

Vacation time was over.

"Deli-bird?"

He slung the grey trench coat over his shoulders, grabbed the empty Pokéballs and then grimly nodded to the despicable bird-brained Pokémon.

"You can tell _father_ I'm on it," the Pokémon appeared satisfied even though 'father' had the same tone as an insult, and the creature flew out with the cereal box still in its beak.

He groaned and dropped the trench coat on the table. Norman looked at him with curiosity, waggling its tail.

"Best to get started on packing then," Grey grumbled.

"We're going on a Journey, Norman," he said over his shoulder. "Take care to be stocked on—"

When he turned around, Norman had on its back a small bag, filled to the brim with canned Pokémon food.

"Of course," he grumbled. "You share an ancestry with squirrels, right?"

"Rat-Ta-Tà!" Normal cheerfully said with his eyes closed and a grin stuck on its face.

Grey sighed; his gaze went up to the sky's darkening clouds. Wonderful…his journey would begin in the middle of a downpour.

Really, utterly, wonderful.

**Author's notes**

**Pokemon. Gotta Catch Them All.**

**Maybe not. **

***shudders***

**Not a crack fic. Not an angst fic. This is me trying a normal story without 'extremes' of one type or the other.**

**First off, spoilers ahoy!**

**Read the following lines at your risk and peril!**

_**Silver**_** is the son of Giovanni. **_**This hasn't changed.**_

_**Grey**_** is the 'lead executive' of Team Rocket in one of the mangas, but this here is clearly **_**not**_** the case.**

**This story has a mix of both Anime-Manga-and whatever rocks my boat while I write. The purpose of this story isn't to write a gritty realism or a bloodshed filled one.**

**It's mostly writing about a journey with the eyes of an adult, rather than a child. (I upped the age of the starting trainers from 11 to 16, if you noticed)**

**Taking from the wiki (or its pictures where I could) Leaf starts with Squirtle. 'Blue' starts with Charmander. Red goes with Bulbasaur. Ash gets Pikachu and Gary gets Evee.**

**Grey…**_**has**_** Rattata. **


	2. Hidden in NormaNity

The Grey Journey

Chapter Two

"_Power is more important than type, technique or anything else. A highly trained Pokémon will always win, no matter the deck stacked against it. This is why before we can proceed, I demand you to defeat this Onyx with your Rattata."_

_Giovanni, First Lesson._

The weather held its cloudiness for a good half an hour, before finally caving in under the pressure of water. The droplets rained down the size of massive fists, ricocheting against his grey rain cape and his umbrella. Norman was within his pokéball —no need to get him wet and maybe sick for nothing.

The wind, slightly chilly, made his nose twitch. He grumbled. His gaze glazed over. There was a strong gust of wind then, forcing him to clasp on the umbrella with all his might. The piece of wood and cloth —not one of those cheap plastic renditions— held.

From further ahead came a light scream.

He carefully walked forward, narrowing his eyes to see better in the dim light and beneath the heavy rain. There was a bright green splotch of plastic in the mud, and an equally bright green rain cape fluttering under the wind.

"Aw! Now what!?" Leaf's familiar voice reached his ears as he neared. He tensed for a moment —beneath his rain cape was the grey trench coat, with emblazoned on the back the bright red R of team Rocket. Still, as it was the girl didn't know of his 'occupation'.

He could help her.

"Leaf!" he exclaimed, catching the teenager's attention. "What are you doing? Playing umbrella in the mud?"

"That's not funny, Grey!" the girl yelled back, before staring at him with an indignant huffing face. "My umbrella snapped in half!"

"Yes," he drawled out. "I can see that Karma is at work here," he acquiesced. "This will teach you not to meddle with my sleep hours."

"Come on!" Leaf's lips trembled, "Help a fellow trainer out here!"

"Right," his lips twitched into a smile. "You got your Squirtle?"

"Yep!" she grinned happily, grabbing her Pokéball. "Want to fight?"

"Nope," Grey shrugged, "There is a time and a place for everything, but fighting Water types in the rain? I'll pass thanks."

"W-What! Why? I'm a Pokémon trainer and I'm challenging you! You can't refuse, you big _meanie_!"

He chuckled good-naturedly, shaking his head.

"You're going to get your Pokémon hurt," he said, his tone slowly losing his mirth.

"I'm still challenging you!" Leaf exclaimed, throwing her Pokémon. "Squirtle! Come on out!"

He lost his smile. He gripped on Norman's Pokéball and then clenched it slightly, to enlarge the sphere before throwing it.

The bright ray of red escaped the ball, and Norman was out with its teeth bared.

"Tackle him Squirtle!" Leaf said, pointing her finger against Norman.

"Norman," he said sharply, "_**Crunch."**_

Norman's eyes narrowed as its jaws opened up. Its paws gripped on the muddied terrain as it launched itself forward, a light dark sheen covering its fangs. Squirtle pushed itself forward to tackle the Rattata with its strong carapace, but the mouse-like Pokémon swiftly evaded the Turtle-like one and pounced on its hind right leg. The bite made the Squirtle cry out in pain as Norman snapped the jaws shut and pulled, pushing the Squirtle on the ground.

"Call your Squirtle back," Grey said snapping his fingers to recall Norman. "He is too wounded to be able to continue fighting," he deadpanned.

Leaf looked at him for a moment, with her face pale. She meekly pushed forth her Pokéball and reabsorbed her fainted Squirtle.

"You must think me an idiot," she muttered, her head low.

"Nah," he shrugged, a smile forming on his face. "You just need to know who you can battle and who you can't. You could have probably won in this setting even against a Bulbasaur, and in a water type setting like this you'd have made short work of a Charmander."

"So…uhm…" she fumbled for the potion in her jacket. "You're going to Viridian city, Grey?"

"Yes," he said. His hand went down to scratch Norman's neck, before sending the purring-in-pleasure Rattata back in his pokéball.

"Can we go together?" she pushed the tip of the potion's bottle over the pokéball's button, as the pokéball's internal system began to heal Squirtle.

"Until Viridian city? Sure," he replied.

"There's a Gym there too, right?" Leaf said then excitedly. "You think I can—"

"No," he said sharply. "That is the last Gym. You've got a long way to go before that," he added.

Leaf's shoulders slumped. "You know so many things…"

"I'm an adult," Grey replied, "I already did my great adventure," he chuckled as he moved his umbrella towards the girl. "Let's get going, or we will never reach the city in time."

Leaf nodded, and brightened up considerably after that. He sighed. He remembered the times when he too had been like that. They hadn't lasted, but they were his fondest memories.

"Ehi," Leaf whispered. "Look at that," her finger went to a group of Pidgey resting beneath the covers of a tree's branches. "I'm going to get me a Pidgey."

"You have empty Pokéballs?"

Leaf stuttered at that. "You have one to loan me?"

He sighed and fumbled through his pockets. "Here," he then stood back and watched.

"Go, Squirtle!" Leaf flung the pokéball with grace and a little back-kick, while closing one of her eyes and putting up a bright smile.

Was she trying to impress someone?

"Squirtle!"

The Pidgey family of course woke up. "Go Squirtle! Tackle!"

The turtle-like Pokémon jumped and slid through the light sheen of water that covered the ground, before jumping head first against…the tree bark.

The Pidgey good-naturedly watched the scene with curiosity. Grey could actually imagine them going on a little theatrical production…'Darling, look, a stupid trainer!' 'Mom, the girl's stupid, right?' 'Now, no making fun of her! She's trying her hardest!'

Somehow, the image of a Pidgey with a monocle and a fedora reading the newspaper and smoking a pipe entered his mind.

"Squirtle! Use a water move!"

Squirtle remained unfazed. He just stared blandly at Leaf as if she were extremely dumb.

"Ah…ah…" Leaf exhaled, her shoulders visibly trembling.

"Bubbles," Grey whispered beneath the downpour. "Tell him to use bubbles."

"Right! Bubbles, Squirtle! Use Bubbles!"

"Squirtle!" the Pokémon exclaimed, promptly opening its mouth and…doing nothing.

"You taught him Bubbles, didn't you?"

"I…" Leaf began to hiccup. "I didn't."

"Now, now," he patted her awkwardly on the head. "It's all right," he said. "He just needs to train more. Everyone has bumps along their road…"

"Mine's a frigging mountain pass," Leaf muttered back.

"Possible," he nodded seriously. "Still, instead of talking under the rain let's find someplace warm for the time being…I'll teach you a few things I picked up along the way."

"Thanks Grey," Leaf muttered half-heartedly, as she brought Squirtle back in the Pokéball. "Think—"

"GET OUT OF THE WAYYYYY…" Ash Ketchum dashed past them in that instant, running on a bike and pursued by a Spearow…flock.

Grey sweat dropped, chuckling nervously.

Leaf swallowed heavily, before moving closer to him and making a light bowing gesture. "Please teach me everything."

"Will…do."

**Author's notes**

…**I never got into the 'last gens' stuff past the mechanics. The only pokémons to me are the 151 of Gen 1.**


	3. Welcome Home

The Grey Journey

Chapter Three

"_Being kind costs relatively nothing. A Thank You, a Please, they are both useful tools when dealing with people. Leave a good first impression, and everything will go by smoothly. Of course, once you reach a position of power…abandon pleasantries, for you are among sharks, not among people."_

_Giovanni, lesson number Two._

The rain had ceased, the road was muddy and the ground soft beneath his boots.

"Squirtle, tackle!" this time, it was a Spearow. This time, Leaf's Pokémon managed the feat of tackling the bird straight in the chest, sending it to tumble on the ground. The pokéball flew next, soon capturing the wild Pokémon.

Squirtle cheered; the 'click' of the captured Pokémon was extremely satisfying to hear for both him and his trainer. Leaf jumped in the air then, laughing.

"Yes! I did it! Pokémon Trainer Leaf, first Pokémon captured!"

Grey clapped his hands once with a small smile on his face, "Well done then," he chuckled. "Good luck catching them all," he turned to the road. "Remember to always keep your eyes on the road when you head for the grass or the forest —it's easy to get lost otherwise."

"All right! Squirtle, come back!"

The ray of red shot out from her pokéball, hitting Squirtle dead on and sending him back into the red and white sphere. Leaf grinned to herself as she quickly went to grab the captured Spearow.

Grey began to head towards the road, soon followed by Leaf. His backpack still covered the red R of team Rocket, and he hoped it would be enough.

Small talk came easy, as Leaf kept on declaring how she'd be the very best and he just nodded and held a smile on his face every moment. This was starting to grow tedious, but he kept his ears open all the same. Some interesting bit of information could still pass through and become useful to him, like Leaf's intent on taking on a grass and water Pokémon to better battle her rivals from Pallet Town.

Norman strolled in front of him eagerly yapping, sniffling every now and then the ground and giving hesitant bites to berries along the way.

"One day you're going to catch food poisoning," he suddenly said, directed towards Norman. The Rattata just stared back at him perplexed, before smiling.

"Rat-Tata!"

"No, I'm not worrying about you," he grumbled. "I'm worried about having to clean up after you."

"Ratta-ta?" the Pokémon's eyes watered slightly.

"You remember last time in Cerulean city?"

"Rat-Rat-Tata!" the rat-like Pokémon squeaked out embarrassedly, shaking his head firmly. "Ra-Ra-Rat-tata!"

"Yes, yes I'm sure it was a passing Pidgey," Grey grumbled.

Leaf giggled at the scene. "You're funny Grey," she said, "I hope one day to have the same good relationship with my Squirtle as you have with Norman," then she blinked.

"Maybe I should start right now!" she flung her pokéball out, letting the Squirtle emerge.

"Squirtle!"

"Squirtle! I'm Leaf," she said, crouching down to be on the same level as the Pokémon. "I hope we can get along!"

"Squir-tle?" the Pokémon said, cocking his head to the side and scratching the back of his shell. "Squirtle?"

"Ehm…do you like candy?"

Hastily, Leaf brought out a candy for Pokémons from her pocket. The moment she neared it to Squirtle, a blur of purple and white fur passed by, as Norman ate the candy before anyone could even try to stop him.

"Norman!" Leaf exclaimed, "Bad Rattata! Bad!"

"Rat-ta-ta!" the offending Pokémon said back with an indignant huff.

"Norman," Grey said curtly, "By my side."

Norman stiffened for a second, before quickly scampering back near Grey's feet. Leaf took out another candy, which this time wasn't stolen. Squirtle enjoyed the treat, smiling brightly as he munched onto it happily.

"Squirtle!"

"Hey," she said, "Do you want to stay out of the Pokéball?"

Squirtle looked at her for a moment, before giving a quick set of nods.

"All right then! We'll be like Grey and Norman then!" she turned thoughtful. "Maybe I should give you a nickname?"

"Squir-tle?"

Grey looked away, staring at the horizon where the tips of the buildings of Viridian city were coming into view. His trip with Leaf would end soon. The girl began to talk with her Squirtle as the duo walked side by side. The first houses came into view, and then the road went from being battered and made of dirt to concrete.

He breathed in deeply the smells of the city, the markets, the streets and the tall buildings.

"Well then," Grey said, "From here on out our roads separate," he handed over to Leaf a small card. "This is my contact information. I don't know if you received your pokédex or not, but the recent versions have a phone incorporated…call me _only_ if it's an emergency, understood?"

Leaf nodded, accepting the card. She flipped her pokédex open, before pushing the buttons and inserting the number. The moment she was done, she called.

A ringtone soon began to sing the _Charge of the Valkyrie_, as he took out his own public phone and pushed a button on it. Swiftly, he inserted among his contacts Leaf, and then nodded to himself.

"Good luck for Pewter City," he waved her goodbye, and then was about to leave for the Gym. "Oh, right. If you have any more questions, there's the Trainer Academy in that direction," he pointed towards a large red roof building. "Just go in and ask around. The lessons are free for all trainers."

"Thank you Grey!" she exclaimed, bringing her hands to her mouth to form an impromptu megaphone. "Just you wait! I'll become a strong trainer just like you!"

He smiled, and then walked further away. "Norman, return," he whispered as he rounded the corner. The moment his Pokémon did just that, his eyes narrowed.

He brought his right hand to the inner folds of his Team Rocket trench coat, extracting his Trainer Badge and letting it slid against the outer doors' panel.

The doors hissed open, sliding along their rails to reveal a well-polished wooden floor.

"Excuse me, but the Gym is…" a female voice reached him to the side, belonging to a red haired woman with cherry lipstick, wearing a black tank top —as well as showcasing her belly button— and a small mini skirt.

"Jessie?"

"Oh, Grey!" the woman smiled, clapping her hands together, "How nice to see you! James and Meowth are going to be enthusiastic! Come on in! Make yourself at home," she laughed as she linked her arm with his and pulled him inside. "Then again the gym was your home for quite a while, wasn't it?"

"Yes," he acquiesced. They began to walk through the corridors, avoiding the metallic doors barred and with the 'Sanctioned Staff of Security Level Five Only' sign. The wooden floor soon turned to uneven ground, as they reached the battle area.

The giant screen of the arena… was showing games. His right eyebrow twitched as he heard the voices of Meowth and James echo in the empty area.

"No, no! Right! You have to go right!"

"Meowth! The Zombies got me!"

Grey coughed politely.

In the blink of an eye, the entire 'game set' was gone, as if it had never been there to begin with.

Both James and Meowth stood to attention, before relaxing as they realized who was the one coughing to attract attention.

"Grey!" James exclaimed, "How long has it been!?"

"Meowth! Please don't tattle with the boss, all right?" Meowth pleaded, bringing his paws together. "He'll kill us."

In that instant, the screen flickered to life.

All four members of Team Rocket present in the Gym stood to attention, Grey bringing both hands behind his back and straightening up. Jessie, James and Meowth instead did a military salute.

Giovanni's face gazed at them hard on the screen, before saying a curt word of greeting.

"Grey."

"Father," Grey replied calmly. "I arrived as instructed."

"Very well," Giovanni said briskly. "The Pokécenter in town has the alarm disabled for the next week, and the only surveillance is in the form of a single police Officer, who has to make the rounds on a bike," he looked towards Grey. "You will steal those Pokémons, Grey. In the meantime you three," this time he turned towards Jessie, James and Meowth, "Will provide a distraction."

There was a moment of silence as Giovanni breathed once.

"_Do not fail me."_

Then the screen turned off, and silence fell in the battle arena.

_It's good to be back home,_ Grey thought dryly.

**Author's notes**

…**conflict…**


	4. Team Rocket Rocks Away

The Grey Journey

Chapter Four

"_Pokémon are resources. They come, they go and they die. Hold those you need at an arm's length, and do not grow attached. Once they have served their purpose, they no longer are needed."_

_Giovanni, Third Lesson._

The streets at night were peaceful. A light cold breeze blew through the concrete roads and narrow alleyways. Holding a Pokéball in his right hand, Grey carefully trudged towards the garbage bins near the city's dump.

"Grimer," a pipsqueak voice said, catching his attention. "Grim-er?"

A bin fell to the side, as a mixture of mud and toxins emerged. He clicked his tongue against his teeth, before bringing up a scarf to his nose.

"Go, Norman!"

There was a soft click as the pokéball opened, releasing his Rattata.

"Grimer! Grimer!" the mud-like Pokémon yelled, trying to move its deformed limbs forward

"Sucker Punch, Norman!"

His Pokémon obeyed, jumping to the side of the Grimer's own attack as it sliced through the thing's sides with its own elongated paw-nails. The Grimer moaned in pain as it wobbled into a deformed puddle, before Grey's Pokéball caught it.

There was a small red flash, then the rhythmic movement of the Pokéball to the right and to the left, and finally silence as it clicked close.

Grey grabbed the Pokéball containing the Grimer, and then began to walk away. The roar of a motorcycle arrived next, as he brought down his hand to cover his face from the light that suddenly blinded him.

"Stay where you are!" the female voice —sharp and to the point— made him click his tongue again in dissatisfaction. "What are you doing out here at night?"

"Taking a stroll, capturing a Grimer," he retorted, "Unless it became illegal now?"

Norman hissed, his eyes narrowing on the Officer.

"I don't like your tone," the officer came into view next. Blue hair, narrowed eyes, blue dress and cerulean mini skirt…Jenny.

"I don't like being accused for no reason, or being forced into an interrogation in the middle of the night," he retorted hotly. "Don't you have better things to do than patrol the dumpsters?"

"That's it mister smartass! You're coming with me to central," huffing, the officer moved to grip his arm. He smiled slightly. An explosion rocked the ground in the middle of the night, as smoke and light became visible from the other side of the city.

The Officer paled, before hissing. "Don't you dare move from here, citizen!" she then dashed for her bike, giving it gas and departing into the night.

Quietly, Grey unclasped a small bloc notes and made a tick down next to a note. "Friday —patrol at dumpster...confirmed."

He hummed to himself as he widened the pokéball containing the Grimer. "Grimer!" the Pokémon exclaimed, looking at him warily.

"The name's Grey," he said firmly. "You want to be free again?" he asked the Pokémon. His eyes downcast, the Pokémon nodded. "Then I need you to do something for me," he pointed towards the garbage dumpsters. "Call your friends out."

"Gri-mer?" the Pokémon hesitated, looking at him with its half-deformed appearance of mud and toxins.

"Stronger now," he retorted hotly.

"Grimer!" the Grimer croaked towards the garbage dumpsters, "GRIMER! GRIMER! GRIMER!"

"Gri-mer?" a second Grimer appeared from a nearby bin. A third and a fourth soon made their way out of their crevices and hiding spots.

"Norman," the moment he said that, his Rattata dashed in a flicker, "**Quick Attack**."

Three empty Pokéball flew next, capturing the three wild Pokémons in the blink of an eye. "Very well," he said quietly. Norman swished his tail, sending the Pokéball to fly and land into Grey's bag, which he had opened in the meantime.

"Gri-mer?" the mud Pokémon still free croaked, looking at him with hurt eyes. "Grimer?" it pressed on.

"You are free to go now," Grey retorted. "Or do you want to go with your friends?"

He proffered the Pokéball that would have held it, and the Pokémon didn't waste time in choosing. "Grimer!" it disappeared in a flash of red, entering the sphere. Grey sighed in relief and looked at the time. He nodded to himself and began to run in the opposite direction of the fire, Norman hot on his tail.

He brought his wristwatch to his mouth, and then whispered.

"_Set off the second one."_

A second explosion came from yet another direction, waking up completely the town's inhabitants and sending them on the streets.

In the middle of the chaos, Grey pushed his way towards the Pokémon centre.

A scared nurse Joy was standing next to a Chansey, as the lights around the city dropped. At the very least, Jessie and James knew how to make things blow up.

"Ehi!" he exclaimed, shoving his way past a few scared people who were crowding the hall of the Pokécenter. "Officer Jenny needs help! If there's anyone with a water Pokémon, they should head over to the Academy! If someone's got an Earth or Rock Pokémon, there's the Electrical Generator that's still a danger!"

"Oh my, they hit the Academy?" Joy's face filled with pale fear as a few of the scared citizens began to move. "I'll prepare the beds inside immediately," a third explosion rocked in the distance. Grey winced as this one came a bit too close to home, the walls of the centre trembling as bits and pieces of the ceiling fell down. "Why is this happening?" she whispered, trying to head outside.

"Nurse Joy!" he grabbed her by the shoulders firmly, his eyes locking with hers, "We need to do something now! Let me help you, please!"

"A…Ah! Of course!" she exclaimed. He let go of her shoulders then, following her as she opened the doors of the Pokécenter wide enough to let people flock in with ease. "Please follow me! Chansey, make sure there's enough energy for the Medical Bays for the wounded pokémons."

"Chansey!" the Chansey Pokémon exclaimed, before calling a few of the others Chansey and heading off in a specific direction.

"What's going on?" a voice called from a nearby bench, where a half asleep Ash Ketchum stood up, pushing away his blanket. "G-Grey?" the raven-haired boy had his hair bedraggled, and sported a bruise on the right side of his face.

Next to him, slowly standing up, was the same girl that had pursued him.

"Ash!" he nodded to the other Pallet Town Trainer, "Stay where you are and don't try anything!" he ran off behind the nurse, taking to the inner corridors of the Pokécenter before the boy could interrupt him. Helpfully, he reached for the storage room together with Nurse Joy, who took out her keys to unlock the door.

"There," she said as she swung the door open. "The…"

"Norman, **Quick Attack**."

With those two words, his Rattata slammed against the Nurse's back, sending her to fall inside the storage room. Grey yanked the keychain of the Nurse, before looking around the room for…there, the ventilation shaft.

He unclasped the Grimers' Pokéballs.

"Grimer?" "Gri-mer!" "Grimer!" "Gri-mer? Grimer!"

"You four," he hissed, getting down on one knee. Pointing his finger towards the ventilation shaft, he gave a single sharp order.

"Get inside, and use **Poison Gas**." He recalled Norman, grabbing one of the medical masks from the storage room. The Pokémons, even though caught only recently, _obeyed_ his will.

He did have the Ground Badge pinned to his chest after all.

Grey hissed as he closed the door of the room behind him, leaving the nurse knocked out cold. He began to walk back towards the Pokécenter's hall, his eyes darting to the vents that were slowly beginning to emit light purple vapours.

His wristwatch began to vibrate.

"Grey here," he said simply, bringing the watch —or better yet, the _Xtransceiver_— to his mouth.

"Meowth!" the reply came in a giggling hiss. "Team Rocket, ready to depart at the speed of light!"

"Head towards the rooftop of the Pokémon centre," he briskly replied. "Well done with the explosions," he added then. He gripped his coat and swiftly pulled it on his back, letting the bright red R of Team Rocket show as he removed his sweater, to reveal the black cardigan with another emblazoned R on it.

His trench coat bellowed as he sped up his footsteps. Soon, he was back in the hall. Ash was coughing violently, together with the orange haired girl.

"Why? Cough…"

"Sorry," he deadpanned as he passed by, "I've got work to do."

He felt the hem of his coat grabbed, as Ash's hand went to stop his advance. "W-Why?" he coughed out.

"Sorry kid," he muttered, "Grimer's poisonous gas isn't strong enough to kill humans, but it will be enough…"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a voice bellowed, which he ignored.

"Charmander! Use Emb—"

His eyes widened significantly, as he broke into a mad dash. The fire of the embers shot forth, burning through the poisonous gas and _igniting_ it.

The _imbecile_ had worsened the situation!

It had to be Blue —he recognized the voice.

"Stupid idiot!" that was Red. "Look at what you did!"

"Stop it you two!" Leaf shot next, "I'll take care of it! Squirtle! Use Bubbles!"

He slammed his shoulder against the door he had seen the Chansey go through before, cracking it open as he gave a single sharp whistle. From the vents, the four Grimers emerged in waves. "Follow me!" he ordered to his Pokémon, running towards the sick bay.

Five knocked out Chansey were on the floor, their faces clearly in pain.

The Pokéballs of the wounded pokémons, as well as the Pikachu who were the backup generator, were all ripe for the picking.

He opened his bag. "Grab the Pokéballs and throw them in the sack!"

"Grimer!"

"Grimer, Grimer!"

That was the second reason he had taken the painstaking road of getting more than one Grimer. The masses of filth and mud literally 'engulfed' the spheres, before dropping them by the dozens inside his bag. Minimized as they were, he made short work of the captured pokémons.

"Stop right there!" he cursed, looking over his shoulder to stare straight into the eyes of Red, Blue and Leaf.

Red was wearing a baseball cap backwards, his namesake's red jacket firmly strapped as a red scarf covered his mouth. Blue was pretty much the opposite of Red, with his own jacket open to reveal a blue shirt beneath. He held a hand to his mouth.

Leaf instead breathed raggedly, Squirtle by her side.

"Who the hell are you!?" Red exclaimed.

"Stealing wounded Pokémon! Have you no shame?"

His Xtransceiver beeped as he closed his sack. "Heads up," he said with a sarcastic voice, jumping backwards. The ceiling of the sick bay _exploded_ next, bringing down a rope ladder that he quickly grabbed on, "BRING IT UP!" he yelled, before feeling the rope pull his body upwards.

"Grimers! You're free to go!" he exclaimed as he passed by the hole in the rooftop, dropping the four pokéballs containing them. "Job well done," he muttered as he climbed the ladder, before landing in the casket of the Team Rocket's hot air balloon.

"James?" he said suddenly to the blue haired man, "You still have a Koffing, right?"

"Uh? Yes, why?"

"Loan it to me for a moment…"

_Jenny_

Officer Jenny looked at the wounded people outside the Pokécenter, before clenching her hands tightly into fists. Everyone turned out to be fine, if a bit dizzy or with a heavy migraine. The Chansey did the best they could, as the Pokécenter kept on burning in the night.

"Where's Nurse Joy?" she heard a raven-haired boy say, his gaze wondering around. Her blood ran cold. Could…could it be she was still inside?

"Koffing," a grave voice rung from above, making her twist her neck towards its source. A Koffing was slowly floating out of the Pokécenter, in its mouth holding the legs of Nurse Joy.

The moment the Nurse's limp body touched the ground it opened its mouth to let her go, and then floated upwards, in the night sky.

She dashed towards her first, pushing aside the others who were nearing. "Let her breathe! Someone get a doctor!"

In the middle of the chaos, she forgot to keep an eye out for the owner of the Koffing, who harmlessly disappeared from sight.

_Grey_

"Casualties?" he asked calmly, looking at the burning city, where the fire fighters had begun their work. Jessie smirked and triumphantly brought her right hand to her chin, while James gave a thumb-up and Meowth laughed.

"We're not amateurs!" Jessie exclaimed. "The Academy was empty."

"The Electrical Generator's guards were knocked out and brought outside," James added.

"And I took care of that abandoned eye-sore of a building, meowth!" Meowth answered last.

"Very well then," he said. "Father will be pleased. I don't understand why he changed his orders suddenly to make this _flashy_ however," he grumbled. "We could have done a better job _infiltrating_ at night. We even had the diversion prepared."

Meowth took out the Mexican maracas and a pair of fake moustaches from his pouch, before placing a sombrero on his head.

"Cha-cha-cha! Mexican bystanders making noise always works!"

"It's like he wants us to be hunted down," Grey mumbled. "What's our next objective?"

"Ehm…well," Jessie looked sideways. She muttered something unintelligible then.

"Repeat that," Grey deadpanned.

"Mount…Moon," Jessie sighed. "We've got to steal the Moon Stone."

"Isn't the Moon stone that giant boulder which weights tons?" he sarcastically retorted, "The one thing that we couldn't move even with twenty Tauros pulling it? The one my father said, and here I quote 'it's just a giant waste of a rock' because _he couldn't steal it_?"

"Well, boss just wants a few kilos of it now," James said, trying to smile. "We can chip it!"

"With _what_ Pokémon, exactly?" Grey retorted. "It's not like we have a Rock Pokémon who knows Earthquake."

"There's Pewter city, Meowth!" Meowth exclaimed. "They have Rock Pokémons! It's just one week away by air balloon!"

"I know that," Grey grumbled. "Breaking into a Gym though…Wait, is Flint still Gym Leader?"

"Don't know about that," James replied, "But we can always get a Geodude from mountain."

Grey sighed. "There's a week ahead of us of casket travelling," he mumbled. "I thought we were done with the Grunt work."

"Aw, come on Captain! Just like old times! Us four, a casket, and being blown away by an incoming storm…"

Grey froze.

"What did you just say, James?"

James opened his mouth, and then closed it shut as he paled. "STORM INCOMING!" he bellowed as he grabbed into a vice-like grip both Jessie and Grey. "I DON'T WANT TO DIEEEEEE!"

"MEOWTH! I'm too—"

A lightning bolt struck the balloon.

_Nothing_ happened.

Jessie smugly grinned as did James, before falling on the floor of the casket and laughing out loud at Grey's face.

"Ahaha! Really! You think we wouldn't put a metallic interweave to redirect electricity on the air balloon? Who do you take us for!?"

Grey exhaled, wiping away the sweat from his forehead. "Of course," he muttered darkly. "You know this means war."

His eyes narrowed.

"Bring it on, captain," Jessie smugly smirked. "Our pranks are always better than yours anyway."

With that, the four fell into a familiar atmosphere, especially once Meowth took out the card deck.

**Author's notes**

…**slightly smarter Team Rocket.**

**What. Have. I. Done.**


	5. Bantering with Comrades

The Grey Journey

Chapter Five

"_People give value to things. Some value money, others value family. Some value their Pokémon, while others prefer valuing their friends, their possessions, or something else entirely. Once you find what they value, in that moment, you acquire a precious thing…a way to blackmail them into submission."_

_Giovanni, lesson number four._

A low growl woke him up. His eyelids slid away, and he frowned as he watched Norman hiss in the direction of Meowth —who hissed back.

"No cat and mouse games in the morning," he grumbled from his small corner of the casket. Following the wind's direction, and if the engine lasted, they'd be at Pewter city in less than a couple of hours. From there, he'd have to get a shower —urgently— and a change of clothes.

"Gah…" Jessie moaned as she slowly stretched. "Yawn…is Cinnabar Island near now?" she stuttered out, rubbing her eyelids with her hands.

"We're long gone past the rookie works," James deadpanned, standing up and stretching. Small cracking sounds echoed as he flexed his arms and fingers, before his stomach began to growl. "Long term deliveries…" he shuddered, "Hell if I do one again."

"They weren't all that bad," Grey replied, his arms crossed beneath his chin as he rested his head to the side of the casket, his gaze to the horizon. "And you remember that time?"

"What time?" James asked warily.

"You know, that time…when we passed by that mansion…"

James turned pale. "Oh no, you don't!" he hissed. "We put all of that behind and you swore we wouldn't talk about that ever again!"

Grey chuckled. "Really, I will never understand how it was possible," he began to giggle, eying Jessie. "It's better to be honest I suppose."

"All right you two," Jessie's forehead twitched slightly, "What's the secret? Why are you both staring at me like that? Well!?"

"Nothing," they both chorused —James hastily and Grey calmly. "Just the usual male bantering," Grey added, before turning his gaze upwards, to where the fire burned to keep the air warm and the balloon afloat.

A few moments of silence lapsed by, before James finally broke the silence. "What if the Onyx isn't enough?"

"Then we try and appease father with a few captured Clefairy," Grey retorted. "Like it's not that his plan in the end."

Grumbling, all three humans of Team Rocket hung their head low, sighing deeply.

The air balloon soon began to lose altitude, as James guided it towards a clearing near the city. Jessie looked around thoughtfully once the casket landed, before pushing a button to the side. The casket buzzed as the balloon swiftly disappeared within it, before it mechanically started to fold itself into smaller squares until but a thin sheet of metal remained.

"And voilà!" Jessie pocketed the air balloon. "The might of modularity!"

Grey twitched. "How much did that cost?"

"Ehm, captain, come on…you know you're no longer in charge of our funding right?" Jessie chuckled nervously, taking a step backwards.

Norman stood by the side of Grey, hissing menacingly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"How. Much."

"It was a low interest loan! We already paid it all! Really!" Jessie squeaked, dashing to stand behind James. "James! Help!"

"You come right here Jessie! Money isn't something you should squander like that!" Grey bellowed.

"Rat-Tata!" Norman added for emphasis.

"Not a chance in hell!" Jessie yelled back. "Last time I had to sit on beans! Please, James, do something!" she pleaded, grabbing the arm of her blue-haired teammate who sighed, before flicking his hair to the side.

"Very well!" James acquiesced, putting up a most charming smile.

The moment Jessie let go of his arm, he began a mad dash towards the city. "I'm off to the city!"

"JAMES! YOU TREACHER—"

Then she began to run too.

Grey brought his right hand to his face. "Kids," he mumbled as he began to walk towards the city with a leisurely pace. "Father assigned me kids."

He took out his cell phone from his inner pocket, before turning it on. There was the beep of it powering up, before it finished and showed him his screensaver —him as a kid holding a Rattata in his arms.

"You were such a cute little thing back then," he commented to his side, where Norman was trudging along grumbling in _Ratatesque_ about something he couldn't quite catch.

The next minute, his cell phone began ringing as over a hundred messages made their way to it. Missed calls, messages, video calls registered to his electronic secretary…

His phone began to ring again after another minute —someone probably had placed a 'recall once free' option.

"GREY!" the loud voice reached his ears. It belonged to a pale faced Leaf, who was staring at him with a mixture of worry and anger. "Where the hell have you been!? Ash told us he saw you enter the Pokécenter with Nurse Joy, but then you didn't come out at all!"

Wait. Really?

"We were so worried! I'll tell Ash about it. Where are you now? We're still in the forest near Viridian City. Ash wants to capture all the Pokémons he can and you'd never know…"

"Calm down and breathe, Leaf," he replied with a chuckle. "I'm being worked to the bone at the moment, and I can't properly explain what I'm working on at the moment. You know, company secret and all," he did work for a Company.

Sure, a Crime Syndicate was a bit different from a normal every day company, but it worked on the same concepts.

"All right," she exhaled in relief. "I'm just glad you're safe Grey. So, where are you now?"

"I'm already at Pewter City," Grey said. "I've got some business here for a while, and then I'll be off to Mount Moon."

There was a wrangled noise.

"What's going on over there?"

"Oh, it's just…Ash fighting another trainer. They've both got a Metapod out."

"Ah…" he closed his eyes. "Harden battle?"

He began to snort.

"Yes," Leaf looked pissed. "They're…at it since lunch."

"Tell him to use body blow," Grey sighed. "And if worse comes to worse, he can always wield his Metapod as a club."

"Ohi! Grey! Over here, meowth!" Meowth voice came from further down the road, where he was waving at him.

"Sorry Leaf, I have to go now," he closed his cell phone before the girl could reply, and then broke in a small run to reach Meowth.

Pewter city was within reach... but still, for Ash not to recognize him as the Pokécenter thief…how lucky was he?

His bag still sloshed with the pokéballs, which meant his first order of business would be to deliver them to the _**computer**_. From there, his father would take care of the rest personally. He doubted there were many 'rare' Pokémon among the wounded. No, what his father had probably wanted were the high-level ones belonging to those trainers who had yet to try their hands at the Victory Road.

His father never gave explicit orders. He just ordered and then one had to see the big picture.

If one didn't…he shuddered and looked towards Norman.

There was a reason he only had one Pokémon, after all.

**Author's notes**

**Done.**


	6. Taking One's Dues

The Grey Journey

Chapter Six

Pewter city had nice hotels. He admitted as much as he dropped inside his room, after delivering the Pokéballs through the Team Rocket account of the computer in the 'drop' front building. On the outside, the ice cream shop seemed solid enough, but on the inside, it held one of the Team Rocket outposts for Pokémon smuggling.

Father hadn't been pleased of course, but then again he never was whether he completed his assignment or not.

"So Flint is no longer Gym Leader?" he asked over to his Xtransceiver, as James' face showed on the other side.

"Yep," the blue haired man retorted. "He left the Gym to his son."

"You asked his son if he knows the Tm Earthquake?"

"Apparently it's in the Gym's safe in Flint's office, but the boy doesn't know the code and nobody saw the man since years. You think someone bagged him?"

"No, if the Company were involved, they'd make it public," Grey replied, starting the water in the shower. "I'll be out and about in ten to fifteen minutes. Try to keep a low profile and keep Jessie away from the beauty shops."

"Oh James! Look at this cute outfit over here!" the voice of Jessie came out from the Xtransceiver, as James turned white.

"G-Going now, Captain!" James exclaimed, before closing the communication.

"Good," Grey mumbled, as he stepped in the shower and exhaled in relief. Washing after days of travel was just a completely different experience. It bordered on the blissful. Norman went in afterwards, and after both of them had washed, they left towards the Pewter Gym.

He walked in just to see an Onyx trash a Metapod —really, some trainers never learned— and then watch as the Gym Leader consoled the boy.

"Well, how about you try and catch a Grass-Type next time? It might work better…or a Water-Type, if you find one."

The boy sniffled, before leaving teary eyed.

The Gym Leader then turned to Grey and frowned. "Aren't you a bit too old to be going on a Pokémon adventure?"

"I'm an old friend of your father," Grey replied. "He has a Technique that belongs to me, and I'd like it back."

"Wait, you're referring to Earthquake aren't you? Look, I told your friends too: I don't have the combination for the safe."

"It's not a problem," Grey shrugged. "I can open it. I just need the technique."

"Why?"

"A few Onyx of my company need it to build a tunnel for a new metro line," he replied smoothly. The boy's eyes remained narrow, but he had no way to call the bluff. "If you'll show me the safe, I'll just take what I need and leave you the rest. I'm sure you already tried having it opened by a smith, right?"

"That and a lock picker," he acquiesced with a sigh, before calling back his Onyx. "I was tempted on using Onyx more than once, but the cost to repair the walls would be catastrophic."

Grey hummed as he followed the Gym Leader all the way to Flint's old office. He looked at the safe —that wasn't even hidden— and then began to analyse its hinges and surface. "Nice, nice," he mumbled. "Nothing I can't open."

He whistled to Norman.

"Norman? If you'd kindly…"

"Your Rattata isn't going to cut it—"

Norman's teeth shone. Then, he sliced at the steel safe as if he was simply cutting through butter.

The metal panel of the safe fell with a clunk on the ground, while Grey simply pulled his hand inside and began to look for the Earthquake technique. "I'll let you know that my Rattata is very well trained," he said to the slack-jawed Gym Leader.

He finally found the technique and pulled it out. "I'll be taking this."

"Wait!" the Gym leader blurted out. "I can't really let you leave with it! I…"

"You didn't think I'd be able to open the safe?" Grey retorted. "Well, it is not my problem but, if you wish, we can deal with it the trainer way? I can always challenge you and your team to a duel…" he grinned, "I just have my Rattata, but I'm sure he'll be fine." To emphasize the point, he tapped on the metallic panel of the safe that had fallen on the ground.

The Gym leader didn't reply at first, but then nodded. "What's your name then?"

"Ah, I'm Grey," he smiled. "You are?"

"Brock," the man replied. "Father never mentioned you however…"

"I probably was a part of his unsavoury acquaintances," he winked. "Let's leave it at that." He turned to leave, but this time Brock's hand shot forth to grab his wrist.

"What do you mean with that?"

Norman hissed. "Let go before Norman decides you can go without that hand," Grey snarled, pulling himself free. "And you should ask your father, when you find him, of how exactly he managed to get the Gym Leader position."

Darkly, Grey stalked off. He left the Gym and nearly barrelled into the next trainer, but ignored the girl in favour of heading towards the nearby café. He wasn't used getting sloshed in the morning, nor did he particularly like stiff drinks, but sometimes…

One just needed a nice good breather.

"Heya Captain!" Jessie exclaimed after he'd been nursing a small glass of Absinthe for a good half an hour. His method of getting sloshed was after all extremely simple.

He ordered the most alcoholic thing on the market, nursed it for one hour or two, and then took a little sip. That was his 'sloshing' method. It worked perfectly.

James was purposefully trying to hide the backpack on his back filled with clothes —new clothes— and Jessie's new sparkling necklace.

Meowth tiptoed on the nearby chair and ordered a glass of milk. The waiter's face at seeing a talking Meowth was golden, but it was old news for him or the rest of his 'troops'.

"You got the technique?" James whispered, trying to look conspiratorial. The fact he ordered a chocolate dessert made him look more like a sugar high kid than a tough and gruff Rocket Grunt, but it was to be expected.

"Yes," Grey replied handing it over. "We'll need to capture a few Geodude or an Onyx even, before teaching it to them."

"Well then, what are we waiting for, Meowth?"

"My salad, for one thing," Jessie snorted.

Grey chuckled and took his sip. Everything was going to be f…

Grey's head went thunk against the table.

James and Jessie both sighed.

"The worst holder of alcohol could only be our Captain," Jessie deadpanned.

"Meowth, that's right!"

**Author's notes**

**Done.**


	7. The Dark Side of the World

The Grey Journey

Chapter Seven

The ground trembled.

Screams of fear echoed throughout the cave. The lights shone loudly.

"Hold the Zubats off!" Grey yelled, as he pointed his finger forward. "Norman, use Crunch!"

"Rattata!"

His Rattata sped up, jumping from rock to rock until he sailed in mid-air, its paws extended and its mouth open. Behind him, Jessie and James both had their Ekans and Koffing out.

"Koffing! Poisonous Gas!"

"Ekans! Constrict!"

"Koffing!" gas erupted from the floating sphere, who twirled in mid-air creating a veritable hurricane of toxins. The dark green mists spread across the cave, as the Zubats began to fall. The Ekans slithered across them, holding his breath and whipping his tail against those who could still put up a fight.

Then Grey's Rattata attack connected with a Golbat's wing, sending the evolved Pokémon down. "The lights, now!" Jessie dashed across the small cave, holding on to a small compact cylinder. She kneeled in front of a giant portable light, and connected the battery to it.

The rays shone in the deep darkness, as bright as the sun's. The Pokémon flew off the room, as Grey caught his breath. "What's the situation?"

"Koffing is just about to faint, Captain," James retorted. "And Meowth is…well," he eyed the dizzy Pokémon who was stumbling around half-drunk.

"Still dazed," Grey sighed. "Capture a Zubat both of you," he ordered firmly, before flinging one of his empty Pokéball at the wounded and limping Golbat. "What father can't see can't go against his precious 'Grunt-Laws' and rubbish."

"Understood captain."

He sat down tiredly as he watched the Pokéball flare red for an instant, before announcing with a click that he was the proud owner of a Golbat now. Norman slowly walked closer to him, before settling in his lap. He uncorked his flask of water, before taking a sip from it and then letting Norman drink his share from his cupped hand.

"Rattata," the Pokémon moaned tiredly.

With a quick move, Grey opened the Pokéball again to release the Golbat.

The evolved bat-like Pokémon looked at him murderously.

"Do you desire freedom?" Grey asked, his eyes cold and narrow. The Golbat flapped its wings, nodding with a low growl. "I shall grant it to you, but you will help me for the moment," he retorted. "A deal is a deal, understood?"

Golbat growled more, his voice louder.

"Norman…Sucker Punch."

The Golbat fell on the ground, a scream of pain echoing around the cave. "Let us be clear," Grey snarled, pulling his right foot over one of the bat's wings. "You obey, you get to be free," he hissed. "You disobey, and I will let Norman eat you."

The Golbat's eyes widened, before he hastily nodded. "Very well."

He let go of the Pokémon's wing and then took out a potion. "Come here, now," he smiled as the Golbat neared. Spraying his wounds, he began to hum happily. "Who's a good, obedient Golbat? You are! Here, I think this brand of treats is the favourite one for your type," rummaging through his pocket, he came out with a few crimson-coloured Poké-treats.

"That's the captain for you, meowth," Meowth muttered taking a step back from the scene.

"Eheh," Jessie nervously chuckled. "Whenever he channels the boss he scares me to the death."

"So, you got that?" James said to the Zubat flapping its wings near him. "You tell everyone else to stay out of our hair, and we take out the lights as soon as we leave."

"Zuuuu," the Zubat screeched in understanding, especially when the Golbat replied to him from Grey's shoulder.

"Gol!"

"Zu?"

"Gol-Gol!"

"Zu-bat?"

"Gol-Gol-Bat!"

"Zu-zu!"

"GOLBAT!"

"Zu! Zu!" Zubat screeched back, bringing both wings up in defeat and flapping down on James' shoulder.

"Good," Grey remarked. "We should proceed more quickly like this." His eyes then went to the dark tunnels ahead of them. "Listen, Golbat…"

"Gol?"

"_Where are the Onyx?_"

_Leaf_

"Squirtle, use Bubbles!" the highly compressed bubbles exploded against the Onyx's skin, sending the giant behemoth of rock on the ground with spirals in his eyes.

"O…nyx…" the rock Pokémon moaned as it fainted.

"Very well, Onyx is unable to continue," Brock remarked calling his Pokémon back. "Thus, I award you with the Pewter Gym Bad—"

The ground shook.

The Gym's walls cracked. The screams from outside reached her ears and too soon her mind went back to the events of Viridian city. She dashed outside before even grabbing the badge, the Gym Leader hot on her heels. Outside, people were screaming and pointing towards a single direction.

Mount Moon's side was cracked. Another Earthquake shifted through the ground, forcing Leaf down on her knees. "Ah!" she screamed in fear. Why had she decided to go ahead first? Why couldn't she have waited for the rest of the Pallet Town trainers?

"Damn," Brock snarled then, "That…" his lips thinned. "Here," roughly, he handed the badge over. Then, he ran over towards the Pokémon centre. Leaf watched the badge of the first Gym resting coolly in her hand, and then gazed at the mountain up there.

"Squirtle?" her Squirtle called to her from her side.

"Ah, right! You did well Squirtle!" she patted him on the head, much to his delight. "Now, let's…" her throat felt dry. She was not going into another Pokécenter. Not so soon after this chaos: it would be packed. She looked once more up at Mount Moon, and then decided to try to phone Grey.

She stopped then.

Hadn't he said he had business in the city…and then he'd be off to Mount Moon?

Gasping, she looked once more up at the cracked mountain.

Without another thought, she began to run towards it while pushing the quick-call button to get Grey's cellphone on the line.

"GREY! Grey, speak to me, please!" she yelled at the phone, who gave back nothing but the usual beeps. Then, Grey's voice said crisply.

"This is the phone mail of Grey, I am currently busy working. My off-time hours are from eight o'clock in the afternoon to six in the morning. Leave a message after the beep."

"Damn it, Grey!" she snarled at the phone as if it was the one responsible.

"Squir-Squirtle!" Squirtle exclaimed from way behind her.

"Oh, right," she thrust her Pokéball at her Pokémon. "Return, Squirtle!"

The moment her Pokémon returned, she resumed her run. She had to reach Mount Moon. She had to make sure Grey was all right. She was his friend, after all.

**Author's notes**

**Grey is a very complex individual. **


	8. The Thin Line of Disgust and Necessity

The Grey Journey

Chapter Eight

"Will the ceiling hold another Earthquake!?" Grey yelled upwards, to where both James and Jessie were hanging from steel pillars.

They both wore worker caps, and gave quick thumb ups.

"Yep! Go for it, Captain!"

"Very well," Grey turned to the Onyx group, and then pointed towards the Moonstone. "Earthquake!"

The Onyx's tails came crashing down, cracking apart the ground and opening up fissures on the ground and the walls. There was a loud rumble as the steel pillars held, while the small crack on the Moonstone increased by another chip.

"Just a bit more and we'll be able to take away a nice chunk, meowth!" Meowth exclaimed from near the stone, trying to push further in the wooden nail. "If only we had a fire and ice pokémon, meowth," the cat-like pokémon added.

"If only someone hadn't botched that last mission," Grey replied calmly. "Anyway, take five gents and Pokémon!" he exclaimed, also towards the Onyx who grumbled and then laid down their massive bulks to rest. "Just a few more shots and then you'll walk away free, and with Earthquake in your repertoire," he added towards the Onyx closest to him, who simply nodded with its massive stone head.

"Hey! I have standards!" Jessie exclaimed. "And burning a Pokécenter? Is it me or the boss always gives us the most crappy missions for promotion?"

"Course he does," James replied. "That's why we're still stuck on Grunt work."

"Yeah, as if he'd leave this to normal grunts," Grey muttered. "One day you'll have to tell me why you still stick around me. You'd have been long promoted with someone else."

"Hell no! We're seeing this as a future investment," Jessie began to state, a smile on her lips as she hammered down on a steel pillar. "The way…thunk…I see…thunk…it," she jumped down from her precarious position. "Once you become the boss we can shot all the way to the top. Maybe have all the vacation time we deserve from our contract as bonus paid?"

"Only if I participate too," Grey replied with his lips twitching in a smile. "Would be funny to see it: 'Team Rocket's most prominent membership, in vacation; we will resume our activities next century, please leave a message after the beep'."

"Think more the next millennia," James grabbed on to Koffing as the pokémon gently floated him down. "Really, putting up with all this crap…I deserve a statue in the Gym, that's what; a nice human-sized statue."

Chuckling between themselves, they failed to notice someone entering the hall.

"Stop right there!" the startled cry of Leaf made Grey turn faster than the rest. The movement brought his trench coat to flap with the Red R of Team Rocket, and as it did, Leaf's eyes widened.

"Grey?"

"Leaf," he grumbled. "Why are you here?"

"Why? Because…you didn't answer your phone," she muttered with a cracked voice. "And I thought you were wounded, not…not that you were the reason the mountain is breaking."

"Well, actually that's the Onyx's fault, but then again we're having a deal. We take a chunk of Mount Moon's moonstone, and they get to walk away with Earthquake free of charge."

An Onyx stood up, grumbling.

Soon a second one followed, and then the third.

"But you can't take away a piece of the Moonstone!" Leaf cried. "It's…It's against the law!"

Grey snorted. "Leaf, do you know what the R on my back means?"

"It's…it's like the one of the guy who stole all those pokémon in Viridian city?"

"It's the same, Leaf," Grey exhaled taking out Golbat from his Pokéball. "And it's the same because what it means is 'Rocket'."

"That's…the name of an evil organization! They kidnap Pokémon Grey!" Leaf yelled back at him. "You can't really belong to them, right? It's all…a joke, right?"

"Golbat, use Confuse," Grey stated plainly.

Golbat screeched then, flying straight for Leaf's body.

"Onyx! Tackle it!" a male voice reached them just before the Golbat could move close enough to Leaf, as an Onyx snaked its way through the ground with incredible speed.

"Golbat, dodge!" flapping its right wing, the Golbat began diving from the air towards the ground, ending up beneath the Onyx's chest. "Confuse him!"

"GOLBAT! SCREEEEEE!" the screech echoed into the cave, as Grey gave a nod to James.

"Koffing, come on to the fore! Poison Gas!"

"Koffing!" the Koffing exclaimed, spinning wildly as it charged towards the group.

Grey nodded towards Jessie.

"Go Ekans! Constrict!"

"Hey! That's not fair!" the male voice suddenly gurgled, as the poisonous gas dispersed a moment later. The Gym Leader Brock was within the spires of Ekans, whose gleaming fangs were inches away from his neck. The man's Onyx trashed about for a moment more, before its eyes widened at the sight of his trainer in such a state.

"Stay where you are," Grey ordered the Onyx. "As for you, _trainers,_ stay still if you don't want to be killed."

Leaf watched, wide eyed, the man in front of her take careful steps forward towards the Gym Leader. Norman began to walk alongside Grey, its teeth showing.

"Who knows you're here?" he asked the man.

"E-Everyone in town!" Brock snarled back. "You won't get away with it!"

"You sure about that?" Uhm…I wonder, do you have a Geodude like your father? No, don't answer me…I'll check for myself."

"Ehi! Let go…Don't…" but Grey didn't hear him, and soon took Brock's pokéballs from his belt. He trafficked through them until his hands clasped around a single sphere. "Here it is, Geodude. Hey little fella," he let the Pokéball throw. "How about you learn this little, nice Tm? It will be good for you…and your trainer," with a snarl, Grey flung a technique machine at the Geodude, who looked at it conflicted before staring at Brock.

"What is it?"

"It's a nice technique," Grey remarked. "He can either learn it and help…or watch you die so that I can then break him. Make your pick, but since you warned everyone…I don't have all day."

"Geo…dude," the Geodude remarked calmly, before gripping on to the TM. He didn't need his trainer to tell him to learn it. It was the obvious way to go to ensure his trainer's safety.

"Good boy," Grey said with a smile. "Now, fit yourself into that nice crack in the Moonstone…and then use Explosion."

He turned to the Onyx. "Once explosion is done, Earthquake that damn boulder with everything you have, understood!?"

"Onyx," one of them grumbled.

"Wait!" Leaf yelled. "The mountain will fall all over our heads!"

"We have an air balloon," James replied with a bright smile. "If I were you, kiddie, I'd leave _now_. Tell everyone that if they come in, we'll be taking the Gym Leader's life…got that?"

"Just who are you people?" she asked then warily, looking at James and Jessie.

"Well then…since she asked…"

Geodude exploded. The Onyx used Earthquake. Grey jumped together with Jessie, James and Meowth back on the unfolding air balloon.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"To Protect the World from Devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

With those words said, the Air Balloon was already lifting the Moon Rock's fragment out of the ceiling's hole.

Grey began to snicker as he watched the confused face of Leaf and the shocked one of Brock.

"Ekans! Return!"

"Koffing, Return!"

"Golbat, Return!"

That was when Grey added his own line.

"To end a battle without a fight! This truly shows our might!"

With that said, they were off.

Because really, the only reason they actually prepared such a long-winded dialogue was to give them time to escape with the Air Balloon gaining altitude.

"Their faces," Jessie snickered, holding on to her sides as she fell in her usual corner of the casket. "Their faces!"

"You should leave now and tell we have a hostage!" James mocked his own voice. "All their eyes were on me, weren't they?"

"Thankfully there was that hole on the ceiling," Grey deadpanned. "I wonder if the Moonstone is really a meteorite. Does anyone feel stronger from having it so close?"

"I doubt it. I think that's only a legend," Jessie snorted. "A pity we couldn't get any Clefairy…"

"Urgh," James groaned. "What if the boss wanted one of those?"

"We completed the mission. There's no way he'd give us flak for not completing something he didn't even tell us to do," Grey rolled his eyes. "He might be petty, but he isn't going to spit on our hard work."

"Uhm…guys?" Meowth said suddenly. "Do you think that Geodude survived?"

"The explosion technique probably," Grey spoke slowly, his eyes now closed. "Fourth Earthquakes cast by Onyx…no, not a chance in hell."

"I feel dirty now," Meowth whispered, head hung low.

Silence settled on the casket afterwards.

**Author's notes**

**I think I'll shift perspective to the bad guys rather than the good ones. **


	9. Scientific Knowledge

The Grey Journey

Chapter Nine

The trip past Mount Moon was uneventful. Grey eyed the horizon from the air balloon's casket with tired eyes, while Meowth remained with his tail down. Jessie and James quietly played cards, without their boisterous attitude to boot.

"So," Grey hazarded a moment later. "Where are we supposed to drop this rock?"

"There's a hideout near Cerulean city," James said plainly. "We're supposed to hide out in there."

"You mean _his_ cave?" Grey shuddered. "Is father actually trying to make it unpleasant?"

"Don't remind me," Jessie huffed, "That pokémon is a jackass."

"I think he can read minds to begin with," James shuddered. "He just looks at you through that armour of his and…it's just plain wrong, you know?"

"Psychic pokémon are wrong to begin with," Grey shuddered. "Some of them are outright creepy."

Silence descended in the casket once more, interrupted every now and then by one of the trio shuddering. Meowth just kept his head low and waggled his tail slowly, not saying a word.

"There's the cave," James said suddenly, pointing at a giant fissure on the side of the mountain, which stood near a broad river close to Cerulean city. "Let's bring this thing down nice and slowly."

Slowly, the air balloon began its descent towards the entrance of the cave, where due to the noise two lab-coat wearing scientists were standing already, their pokémon at the ready.

The Team Rocket emblem shone on their chest like a badge of pride, but their expressions softened when they saw the trio leave the balloon.

"You made it?" the female of the duo —a woman with curly orange hair— said in surprise. "You actually made it?"

"Course we did," Jessie replied with her chin high. "We're Team Rocket's Strongest Grunt Team after all!"

"Has there been any strange effect on your Pokémon since exposure to the moonstone?" the male scientist retorted then curtly, pushing his glasses back on top of his nose as he carefully began to examine the stone. "We'll need a Machoke to carry it inside."

"Not that I can feel it, meowth!" Meowth exclaimed, walking his way right behind Grey. "Ehi," the Pokémon whispered. "Don't let that guy come too close to me all right? I'm not in the mood to have him try to dissect my vocal chords."

"Oh! Meowth!" the man said with a pleasant smile, "How is my favourite talking pokémon doing?"

"Meowth," Meowth replied with a horrified face as he dug his nails deeply into Grey's right leg. "Don't let him get me!" he whispered furiously.

"Stop tearing my leg apart!" Grey hissed back.

"Now, now, don't be shy," the scientist, holding up his smile, said. "I'm so glad your team was chosen for this delicate mission, Mister Grey."

"My father's the 'Mister'. I'm just a grunt," Grey waved the oily words off. "So, Doctor Sebastian…"

"It's Professor," the doctor replied, "Professor Sebastian."

"Of course, Professor," Grey nodded. "So, what is going to happen to this chunk of stone?"

"We will ask our important friend," his eyes travelled within the cave, "To check on it."

"So this is why he wasn't stationed at the Headquarters?" Grey queried, "Is there maybe something we should be told about your experiments?"

"Nothing much," Professor Sebastian replied. "Just trying to test whether our guest's limits have truly been reached or not."

"I can't believe Blaine let this go without a fight," Grey snorted. "He basically considers Mewtwo his son."

"When the Higher Ups give an order, it's best not to contradict them," Sebastian nodded sagely, before gesturing them in. "But please, let us talk more inside." Ushering them in, the professor gave a nod to his assistant who returned just then with a pair of Machoke.

Taking their cue, both Pokémon began to lift the stone and carry it in.

The tunnels were poorly lit for a good length —to avoid the people outside from realizing the cave was inhabited by Team Rocket— and Grey had to focus on where he stepped to avoid slipping.

"This reminds me of Viper's training course," James said with a cheer, "The one with that damn Geodude and Gengar couple."

"James! No talking about the Gengar," Jessie shrieked, warily eying around. "There aren't any Gengar in here, right?" she asked Sebastian.

"Of course not," Sebastian replied. "They are pranksters by nature. We need calm and peace. We have a few Kadabra and Magnemite out for emergencies, but there are no ghost pokémons."

"Better," Jessie muttered. "Very Better."

"Very Better?" James raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, James! Very Better! Who cares for the language as long as you get the idea!?"

"You need a dictionary, meowth?" Meowth said, only to suddenly find Sebastian's hand all the way down his throat.

"How does he speak!? Is there some sort of genetic change in the vocal chords of…"

"Argh…Blurb…Meowth! HISS!" Meowth clawed at Sebastian's leg, before gagging and spitting out in a corner, rubbing with the back of his paw his tongue repeatedly. "Get that psychopath away from me, meowth!"

"Professor," Grey said coughing politely, "How about we talk about your experiments?"

"Of course!" Professor Sebastian nodded. "We've been working on realizing a type of ray to force the evolution of Pokémon. As you know some Pokémon, like Magnemite, evolve because of specific conditions —like meeting two other Magnemite in a strong magnetic field for example."

Grey nodded as he exhaled in relief at the sight of the light. Finally, they were in an open area, with bright lights illuminating manufactured rooms. A long-distance communication system with Giovanni stood, doubling as television —something nice to have— on one side while comfortable armchairs and sofa littered the other.

Jessie whistled. "You treat yourself well Professor."

Her eyes went to the communal fridge in the corner. "Oh…" she jumped with glee towards the electronic machines, before extracting from within a bottle of fresh water.

"She's going to be sick in the next hour," Grey, James and Meowth exhaled at the same time, as they watched Jessie chug the cold drink down as fast as she could.

"Meowth…that's right," Meowth muttered, only to swipe his claws at Professor Sebastian who had already begun his lunging move.

"Stay away from my vocal chords!" Meowth snarled.

"Think of the scientific progress we could make! The missing link between Pokéspeech and human speech!"

Then one of the doors in the room opened, and silence fell all around as the tension in the hall increased to a new spike. Standing on its three digits paws, with its purple tail armoured and slicing around in the air, Mewtwo walked in carefully.

"Giovanni's child," the Pokémon spoke coldly, probably eying him through the visor with a frosty glare.

"Mewtwo," Grey replied, hazarding a smile. "There's a nice day outside."

"Is he out of his mind?" one of the scientists whispered to another.

"Mewtwo's going to kill him!" a woman in the Grunt uniform of Team rocket muttered in disbelief.

"I have no interest in the light of the sun," Mewtwo sharply stated, "Only in getting stronger."

"Glad to hear it," Grey replied keeping on his strained smile. "Hope you manage it. Do you need anything from the city?"

"No," and with that single word, Mewtwo returned to his room.

Everyone sighed in relief, except Grey who kept up his strained smile.

Then again, he was acting better than ever. That Pokémon was, after all, the reason he was the one who had to take the mantle of Boss eventually…because for all of his powers, Mewtwo had done the unforgivable. He had made a mistake, and Silver disappeared because of it.

One would think that having a genetically bred super-Pokémon as a nanny and bodyguard would work wonders…but apparently, you can't control life.

You really can't.

"Rattata," Norman snorted.

"Yes," he replied in a murmur. "He still has a pole up his—"

"MEOWTH! That's right!"

**Author's notes**

**Chapter Done.**


End file.
